Description - In Plane View by Carolyn Russo

Painting has come to an end. Who can do better than this propeller? Can you?"" Marcel Duchamp to Fernand Leger and Constantin Brancusi at a pre-WWI air show In Plane View- Abstractions of Flight, by Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum photographer Carolyn Russo, redirects our attention to the often-overlooked simple beauty of aircraft design. With precedents in the work of Robert Delaunay, Charles Sheeler, and Arshile Gorky, among others, Russo uses fine art photography to bring out new visual dimensions of these powerful symbols of the 20th century, transforming them into works of art. Russo's striking color photographs distill the complexity of civil and military airplanes and spaceships into bold combinations of line, shape, light, and color. Beautiful in themselves, Carolyn Russo's photographs become even more intriguing when we learn their source- the iconic air and space craft of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Through her unconventional approach Russo reveals new layers of meaning, from the whimsical to the profound, in the appearance of some of history's most revered flying machines. Juxtaposing her playful and discerning ey

Author Biography - Carolyn Russo

Carolyn Russo has worked as a photographer at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution since 1988. She is author of Artifacts of Flight (Harry N. Abrams, 2003) and Women and Flight- Portraits of Contemporary Women Pilots (Bulfinch Press, 1997). Women and Flight was also a traveling exhibit and toured the United States for seven years with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Artifacts of Flight received awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts' 50 Books/50 Covers competition and the American Association of Museums' Publications Design Competition. She holds a BFA in photography from the Massachusetts College of Art. Her photographs have appeared in both solo and group shows nationally. Patty Wagstaff is a six-time member of the USA Aerobatic Team, has won the gold, silver, and bronze medals in Olympic-level international aerobatic competition, and is the first woman to win the title of U.S. National Aerobatic champion and one of the few people to win it three times. Flying before millions of airshow spectators each year, her breathtaking performances give spectators a front-row seat view of the